India plays upon Buddhist emissary while monks colonize Tamil land

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 February 2010, 23:04 GMT]New Buddhist temples built by armed forces and militant monks mushroom in Tamil land occupied by Colombo, news reports from Eezham said, citing new constructions along A9 highway. Meanwhile, an extremist Buddhist monk with armed support has arrived at Thalai Mannaar Pier area, the nearest point opposite to the Indian coast, to buy 100 acres of land and to start a Sinhala-Buddhist colony there, news sources from Mannaar said. While nearby Mullaiththeevu and Trincomalee of the Tamil north and east are never linked for ages, A3 highway in the western coast is going to be extended according to Colombo reports, linking Puththa’lam and Mannaar through Vilpattu forest to facilitate inroads of Sinhala colonies. In the meantime, India is learnt to have gifted to Sri Lanka a replica of Asoka’s rock edict speaking of his Buddhist emissary to the island.

A newly built Buddhist temple at Kanakaraayan-ku'lam, north of Vavuniyaa. Such shrines are built at many places where Bo trees are found all along the A-9 highway

Rock Edict No 13 of Asoka of 3rd century BCE speaks of his Buddhist emissaries to the Greek countries in the northwest, and to the countries in the south outside of his domain, i.e., the countries of the Athiyamaans (Kongku country of Tamil Nadu), Cheras (Kerala, part of ancient Tamil country), Cholas (Tamil Nadu), Pandiyas (Tamil Nadu) and beyond them the Tambapa’n’ni (island called Sri Lanka today).

A replica of this inscription has been recently donated to Sri Lanka by India and it is said that this edict in Prakrit language will be displayed with Sinhala and Tamil translations.

The Sri Lankan Buddhist chronicles vividly describe the advent of Buddhism to the island in Asoka’s times and how the king Tissa at Anuradhapura in the island accepted the faith and even adopted the title of Asoka as his title and became Devanampiya Tissa. (Devanam piya: beloved of the gods, the title of Asoka)

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) historians of New Delhi didn’t fail to interpret the event as an early evidence for the acceptance of the ‘imperial power’ of India by Sri Lanka.

Not surprisingly, the Sinhalese blind with the Mahavamsa historiography to think Eezham Tamils are invaders and resisted sharing the State with them, never resisted to this JNU School of historiography of larger domination.

Buddhism seems to be the card now played by the two Asian powers to ride on the Sinhala masses in making strategic and economic inroads into the island and obviously India has to register its superiority over China on this. Even BJP and Hindu polity in India have no reservations in using the Buddhist card.

Sinhala-Buddhist polity and the battalion of monks in the island know the weaknesses of the powers and the conquered land of Tamils has become a playground for the monks now, Tamil circles in the island say.

The Indian Establishment, which was silent when the Up-country Tamils of Indian origin became country-less in 1949, has now abetted to make the Eezham Tamils also as country-less, is the opinion and anger in Tamil circles.

“Everyone in the island had gone from India,” said some historians in Chennai recently, urging universities in Tamil Nadu and Kerala to take interest in the history of the island. The tone is no different from that of the JNU School. Whether one talks of Asokan emissary or Naaddukkoaddai Cheddiyaars of Tamil Nadu in Colombo, if histories don’t see the contemporary reality and urgency of recognizing the nation state of Eezham Tamils in the island, then they are the same in their content of imperialism, economic monopoly and in their anxiety to buttress the Colombo-centric system, is the view of Eezham Tamil academics.

Under current circumstances, New Delhi gaining influence on the Sinhala nation and the Sinhala nation accepting New Delhi’s imperialism, invariably depend on their understanding over the annihilation of Tamil nation in the island. Tamils have already realised it but the Sinhalese will eventually pay the ‘imperial’ price, Eezham Tamil circles said.

This polity is decided by a few families and clans, say Tamil Nadu circles, citing the ruling families in New Delhi, Chennai and Colombo that are brought together, advised and served on this matter by certain mercantile clans, diplomatic clans and media clans.

The solution to the multifaceted genocide, achievement of long lasting peace and prosperity of everyone concerned lies only in handing over the land and its sovereignty to its rightful owners, is the opinion of Tamils. But the recent statements and writings coming from India, anxious about its economic inroads, are silent about any political solution in the said line.

A power that can rectify the situation to protect Eezham Tamils from multifaceted genocide is the people’s power of Tamil Nadu. But Mr. Karunanidhi is sitting on it, after politically and physically erasing the word Eezham, Tamil Nadu circles said.

Mr. Karunanidhi, who once started his literary, film and political career from anti-cleric and anti-Brahmin rhetoric, now advises not to anger the genocidal Buddhist monks of Sri Lanka, while they now knock the doors of Tamil Nadu from across Thalai Mannaar, they said.

What remains of a Hindu temple at Ki'linochchi town

A Hindu temple ruined and abandoned at Paranthan

Ruins around Mu'rika'ndi pi'l'laiyaar temple

Ruined and abandoned Church of the American Mission at Ki'linochchi town